Why to Use VR in Healthcare?

Today, Virtual Reality in medicine is nothing new, and there are more and more medical fields where the use of VR applications shows much better results compared with conventional therapy. The use of VR in rehabilitation has proved to be very effective, and for a good reason. Simulated virtual objects, environment, and events allow patients to plunge into an alternate reality, where they can interact with things and carry out actions not otherwise available to them in real life. This is one of the very few, if not the only, ways to let patients “escape” from the restrictive hospital environment.

Moreover, VR in rehabilitation:

allows patients with different disorders to execute actions that they cannot perform in real life due to their disabilities;
gives an opportunity to use more advanced digital rehabilitation methods as an alternative to traditional therapy, thus maximizing the effect of the rehabilitation measures;
can be used in individualized treatment plans developed on the basis of careful assessment and following case-by-case treatment goals;
helps analyze and better understand the needs of people with disabilities in public places and at home.

Process should meet the following requirements:

A patient should train in an environment that is as close as possible to the real world.
A patient should be provided with timely feedback on the progress and quality of tasks he or she performs, so that he has the opportunity to understand and correct possible mistakes and redo the exercise as many times as possible until he succeeds.
A patient should be engaged in the process and willing to be trained.

Using traditional methods, for example, therapeutic gymnastics, it is not always possible to follow all requirements, in contrast to VR. Virtual reality, with its capabilities to simulate practically any environment, the ability to provide fast and elaborate feedback along with highly motivational game-like tasks is able to fill the missing components of a successful rehabilitation program. Virtual reality is a new way of rehabilitation through entertainment. It guarantees maximum involvement in the process promoting and encouraging patients to participate in treatment for maximum results.